Gingrich gets help from super PAC

A new "super PAC" is trying to help boost Newt Gingrich's presidential bid as the former House speaker moves up in public opinion polls amid the stumbles of his rivals.

Solutions 2012, the group behind the political action committee, launched a website and posted a video saying it's "Time for Newt."

"The liberal media and Washington elite want to choose our candidates for us," the website says. "But we don't have to accept their unprincipled, handpicked stooge."

The video shows clips of GOP candidates such as Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry before making its pitch for Gingrich as being "tested" and "trusted."

The group's point is that Gingrich, who made a name for himself in Congress as a man of ideas and who has chided the news media for going after what he calls gossip, is the candidate of substance.

"I'm not talking about slogans," Gingrich says in the video. "I'm talking about very deep solutions."

Gingrich is third in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, behind Herman Cain and Mitt Romney. He's had a steady climb in other national surveys as Rick Perry has stumbled and Cain has had to deal with allegations of sexual harassment.

Super PACs can raise unlimited amounts of money in support of a candidate but must act independently of that campaign. Gingrich recently said he raised more money in October than he did in the July-to-September fundraising period, when he pulled in $800,000.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.